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What
do
the palmetto tree and crescent emblem have to do with Charleston? Well, on June 28,
1776, Col. William Moultrie and his troops successfully defended
Charleston Harbor against an attack by the British fleet. The American
soldiers wore a blue uniform with a silver crescent adorning their
helmets. They also flew a blue flag with a matching crescent design. The
soft, pithy Palmetto tree logs which reinforced Col. Moultrie's fort on
Sullivan's Island are credited with absorbing the force of the British
bombardment. The stinging defeat of the British fleet, coming just days
before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was the first major
victory of the Revolution, thus keeping the South free from British
occupation for years. The state later adopted Col. Moultrie's flag design,
adding the Palmetto tree to acknowledge his spectacular victory.
Charlestonians
have since forgiven our British friends for their rudeness.
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